Lakewood, NJ - State Frees Job Link Funds

Lakewood, NJ - The state has released the first check for the township's embattled Job Link program and people couldn't be happier. The money is the first released since nearly $600,000 in Job Link funding was frozen in February after a state audit questioned how the program was run.
But the first check doesn't mean all the questions are answered. "We're still looking at expenditures and projects on a case-by-case basis," said Scott Kisch, chief of staff for the state commerce commission, which oversees New Jersey's Urban Enterprise Zones. "We're looking at areas that were given emphasis in the audit report and it just so happens that many of those pertain to Lakewood." Kisch added the state reviewed each line item in the last invoice sent by Lakewood and felt comfortable approving it.

Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, chairman of the LDC board, told the public the funding spigot was turned on after a resident at a board meeting questioned how long local taxpayers would have to continue paying for programs the state would not. The LDC oversees the local Urban Enterprise Zone and its Job Link program, which works to place people in jobs.

The program's fate had been jeopardized when the audit discovered a series of irregularities, including a vendor who paid himself as a consultant. The vendor, Professional Career Services, is a job placement firm that paid a company named Telemasters Inc. for consulting services. Both agencies are led by Daniel Soloff. Soloff has acknowledged the deal, including $230,000 worth of payments from PCS to Telemasters, but he has not addressed possible conflicts of interest. In a brief e-mail statement Wednesday, Soloff said "Professional Career Services is very pleased to hear that the State has reopened the funding for the local UEZ."